Unemployment and marital status of women with young children in 2002

For married mothers of children under age 1, the unemployment rate was 6.0 percent in 2002, up from 4.6 percent in 2001. The rate for unmarried mothers of children under age 1 was 19.6 percent in 2002, up from 16.7 percent the year before.

Married mothers whose youngest were a year old faced an unemployment rate of 4.6 percent in 2002, up from 4.3 percent the previous year. For unmarried mothers of one-year-olds, the unemployment rate was 15.1 percent in 2002, up from 13.3 percent the year before.

Overall, the 2002 annual average unemployment rate for mothers (of any marital status) was 9.4 percent for those with children under age 1, and 7.5 percent for those with one-year-old children.

These estimates are based on annual average data from the Current Population Survey, a national sample survey of about 60,000 households conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. See the Employment Characteristics of families in 2002 (PDF) (TXT), news release, USDL 03-369, for more information. Data for 2001 have been revised to reflect the introduction of Census 2000-based population controls. These data are for mothers in the labor force with their "own children," which includes sons, daughters, step-children and adopted children. Nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children are not included. "Married" implies that the spouse is present in the household. "Other marital status" includes never-married, divorced, separated, and widowed.